Reconciled to Reconcile

Work-Ship – Week Three: The Son At Work – Day Eighteen: Reconciled to Reconcile

The first week we came to the conclusion that our definition of work must be based on God’s work. If we are going to figure out what work is, how we are supposed to work and the proper place work should have in our lives it must be rooted in the way God works. So we are in the middle of our three week exploration of the work of God organizing our conversation through the lens of the Trinity.

Week Two – The Father at Work

Week Three – The Son at Work

Week Four – The Spirit at Work

We have established the idea that Jesus Christ, God the Son, works in responsive submission to God the Father, but what type of work does Christ actually do? There are two major categories that describes Christ’s work.

Christ works as the redeemer

Christ works as the communicator

The next couple of days we are going look at Christ’s work through redemption. Then later in the week we will explain and explore Christ the communicator. Christ’s work in redemption is a huge topic. I am not even trying to look at the topic in depth. We will only concentrate on a few specific points that applicable to our discussion about work.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21 (HCSB)

From now on, then, we do not know anyone in a purely human way. Even if we have known Christ in a purely human way, yet now we no longer know Him in this way. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Yesterday, we saw that Christ’s redemption of humanity allows us to re-engage our primary work assignments given by God at our creation. Those of us who have reconnected to God through the life, death and resurrection of Christ are able to work as God intended because we now have the God (re)given resources necessary for the completion of the tasks. We are restored so therefore our ability to work properly is restored as well.

But this is not the only way Christ’s redemption of humanity effects our work. Since we are reconciled we now have the task of helping others become reconciled. If you are reconciled to God through Christ then you know have the ministry of reconciliation. You were reconciled to reconcile. Jesus’ work redeems you and your work is to help others come to know the redemption of Christ.

“…He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us.” Again we see that God the Father and Christ the Son are both intimately involved in Christ’s work of redemption. Also we see that God has designed reconciliation in such a way that we are included and necessary for the work to be completed properly. He has committed this message to us. We are an integral part of the process. Some times I think the Universe would be better off if it is was not made by God in such a way to be dependent upon us. I also wonder if God’s message of reconciliation would have been better off if it was not committed into the hands of humanity. But God has chosen to commit to us His message of reconciliation. We are His ambassadors.

You can work as intended at creation because Christ has redeem you. You can work with Christ in helping others reconnect with the God of the universe.

Is there a way you can communicate God’s redemption through Christ at your job and/or through your work? Maybe someone at your work needs you to communicate the story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection to them. Is there a way you can put on display what redemption is though your work? Is any part of your work redemptive? Can any part of your job be used to display the message of redemption?